''Experiment Perilous'' is a 1944

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

set at the turn of the 20th century. The film is based on a 1943 novel of the same name by

Margaret Carpenter Margaret Mary Carpenter (born in Detroit, Michigan) was a Republican member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the fifty-second district (Madison, Haywood, Graham, Swain, and part of Jackson counties) for one term (2001–200 ...

, and directed by

Jacques Tourneur Jacques Tourneur (; November 12, 1904 – December 19, 1977) was a French film director known for the classic film noir ''Out of the Past'' and a series of low-budget horror films he made for RKO Studios, including ''Cat People (1942 film), Cat ...

Albert S. D'Agostino Albert S. D'Agostino (December 27, 1892 – March 14, 1970) was an American art director. He was nominated for five Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. He worked on 339 films between 1921 and 1959. He was born in New York Cit ...

Jack Okey John Clark Okey (June 3, 1889 – January 8, 1963) was an American art director. Personal life He was raised in Los Angeles and attended the Harvard School for Boys, where he excelled in sports. After leaving, he was given instruction ...

Darrell Silvera Darrell Silvera (December 18, 1900 – July 22, 1983) was an American set decorator. He was nominated for seven Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. He worked on 356 films between 1934 and 1978. Selected filmography Silvera w ...

, and Claude E. Carpenter were nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White. Hedy Lamarr's singing voice was dubbed by

Paula Raymond Paula Raymond (born Paula Ramona Wright; November 23, 1924 – December 31, 2003) was an American model and actress who played the leading lady in numerous movies and television series including ''Crisis'' (1950) with Cary Grant. She was th ...

Plot

The story takes place in 1903. During a train trip, psychiatrist Dr. Huntington Bailey (

George Brent George Brent (born George Brendan Nolan; 15 March 1904 – 26 May 1979) was an Irish-American stage, film, and television actor. He is best remembered for the eleven films he made with Bette Davis, which included ''Jezebel'' and ''Dark Victory ...

) meets a friendly older lady ( Olive Blakeney), when she turns to him for reassurance during a torrential downpour. She tells him that she is going to visit her brother Nick and his lovely young wife Allida, both of whom she effectively raised. Once in New York, Bailey hears that his train companion suddenly died while visiting her brother for tea. Shortly afterwards, he meets the strange couple and becomes suspicious of Nick's treatment of his wife. Nick (

Paul Lukas Paul Lukas (born Pál Lukács; 26 May 1894 – 15 August 1971) was a Hungarian actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for his performance in the film ''Watc ...

) keeps Allida ( Hedy Lamarr), whom he is trying to pass off as crazy, a virtual prisoner in their town house (a New York brownstone in the film), cutting off all contact with the outside world. The kindly Bailey takes it upon himself to attempt to free his new love, Allida, from the control of the insanely jealous Nick. A frenzied gun battle and fist fight in their home, featuring the destruction of several large aquariums, replete with shattered glass, gushing water and floundering fish, may be the most memorable (and most often imitated) scene in the film. The house burns to the ground because of Nick's actions (killing him), but Allida, her son, and Hunt end up living happily in the country.

Cast

Production notes

The production dates for the film were July 12 through early October 1944. According to pre-production news items in ''The Hollywood Reporter'', this film originally was to be produced by David Hempstead and star

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

. After Hempstead terminated his contract with

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...

, Grant dropped out of the project, and Robert Fellows was assigned to produce it.

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

then was slated to star in the male lead, but a prior commitment to

David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca'' (1940), both of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Picture. E ...

productions forced him to withdraw. To create the snow storm sequence, the studio used 100 tons of ice and six wind machines.

Radio adaptations

''Experiment Perilous'' was presented on '' Screen Guild Players'' on October 12, 1946. Brent reprised his screen role, and

Joan Bennett Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She came from a show-business family, one of three acting sisters. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett appeared in more t ...

and Adolphe Menjou co-starred. George Brent reprised his role in a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast on September 10, 1945, co-starring Virginia Bruce.

Modern Culture

Released in the same year as the more famous Gaslight (1944), both films share the theme of a domineering husband manipulating his wife's reality through various forms of harassment, false flags and cruelty. In both films the heroine is admonished by the husband for suffering delusions until she is rescued by a concerned suitor. This form of psychological abuse eventually came to be known as Gaslighting, an homage to the latter mentioned film.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Jacques Tourneur 1944 films 1944 crime films 1944 mystery films American mystery films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Film noir Films based on American novels Films set in 1903 Films directed by Jacques Tourneur Films scored by Roy Webb RKO Pictures films 1940s historical films American historical films Melodrama films 1940s American films Historical mystery films